Wake Up and Smell the Ashes
by Iliya Moroumetz
Summary: Otome One shot. AU. Nagi de Artai knows what it takes if you wish to obtain that which your heart desires... Episode 17 spoilers


It was considered to be the perfect system. Reduce entire armies to a single individual, forcing the weight of the honor of the ruler and the country on the shoulders of an inexperienced, immature, and emotional teenage girl. The rulers would think twice about sending her off to war when their own lives were on the line. It was like the rulers themselves were at the front line.

It was supposed to be the perfect system. Yet, how can imperfect beings attempt or even think of such a thing when they themselves are error prone? The advantages of the Otome System were so highly lauded, without the need for military conscription, that they ignored the glaring problems such a system would require of those brave enough to think they alone could carry a nation.

How foolish to believe in such a thing.

Rulers that climb the rung of leadership often leave a string of corpses, hidden and destroyed, to keep their power in check. Once they have the power in their grasp, they can only think of obtaining more. For some, it wasn't mere power. No, it was dominion over lives of individuals a select few wanted.

Such was the case of Nagi de Artai, the ruler of the Northern Wastelands. Before he came to power, Artai was in a constant civil war with itself over which noble family held the privilege of glutting themselves from the people they owned. They had no Otome, for they had more faith in number and regimental firepower than anything else. The reason for their continued existence was because they had no time to attack other nations when they were continually attacking themselves.

The North Hound, Sergei Wong, once served the house of Dimeter, but a bloody coup, lead by the house's son, left him without a lord to serve. And when enemies of the house took advantage, there was nothing left for the Hound to fight for. That was, until he met the young prince Nagi in a library.

Nagi was, by all rights, an illegal heir to another of the ruined and desolate houses, but he didn't care about that. What he wanted was knowledge and understanding. Sergei had no idea where he had gained the insight to believe that he could rule a country as chaotic as Artai, but Nagi's eyes held a cunning and wisdom that allowed him to rise above the petty power struggles of the other noble houses, and with the Infamous North Hound at his side, many flocked to the child-like Nagi Alexanderius.

With a house of his own, Nagi utilized his expansive understanding of the other noble houses to literally wipe them off the face of the planet. Nagi had an uncanny eye and with that, he found loyal men and women that would commit the dirty deed needed to stop the endless cycle of bloodshed, with seemingly even bloodier results.

However, within three years, Nagi had established himself as ruler and changed his name to Nagi de Artai, placing an impenetrable foundation of power and respect with the people that adored him. Nagi, knowing how to make his kingdom prosper and his people happy, used the expansive fortunes of the dead noble houses to restore Artai to a nation of power, strength, and stability.

Schools were built, hospitals were established, and poverty dropped at an exponential rate. Two years after his coronation, the capital of Artai became the envy of the world because of it's prosperity.

Nagi understood the minds of both commoner and noble. As a result, he knew subtle ways to control the mass population with just the right amount of freedom. At the tender age of fifteen, he had established Artai as the most economically powerful nation of all. And in spite of the lessons of the past, he reestablished the military under his indirect command. The leaders of the military were loyal to the laying down their lives for their liege.

Even the North Hound, when he had taken in a homeless girl during the last coup, had informed him that she would be raised as his daughter, but ultimately meant to be his Otome.

"I'm surprised, Sergei... I knew there was a reason why I liked you, " he had told Sergei once when he had learned he was sending Nina to Gaulderobe. He had no question about Sergei's loyalty. And as a result, he also sent the North Hound to Windbloom as Artai's representative. It would be a ruse, of course, since Nagi had known of the dark dealings of groups such as Aswald of the Black Valley and Schwartz and their attack on the castle some years prior.

His hound would go forth and lie in wait for the real princess of Windbloom. And utilizing a charisma that had earned him several marriage proposals from various countries, he would control the real princess and set her up as his pawn. From there, Nagi would slowly shape the world in his image. Representatives from all the countries would give ear to his will and with the queen of Windbloom, safely nestling the Headquarters of the Otome, at his beck and call, he would have the world without firing a shot.

That did not mean that he felt the plan was perfect. The human element always left a chance for error. So, during the appearance of a strange girl emerging from the desert with the Sapphire of the Azure Sky, he started to appeal to the groups that held no love for Gualderobe or the Pillars of Shinsou.

The Schwartz, despite their long history of intrigues and shadows, were quite shallow and without true direction. He knew how these people operated and with his backing, they'd either get lax or try to userp his power. It was like the old noble houses, vying for power and technology, but using more subtle ways of obtaining it. Knowing that his cunning was on par, if not greater, than theirs, they quietly relented to his will and in one swift stroke, they'd be able to take Windbloom without ruing a single building. After all, what'd be the point of fighting over a pile of rocks caused by unnecessary fighting?

The Aswald, on the other hand, were a different matter. They firmly believed in the diffusion and spread of knowledge and technology, unlike Gaulderobe and Schwartz, which hoarded it like dragon to its gold. When they had refused his invitation, Nagi was quite disappointed. His spies had informed him that Midori, the leader of the ground and her right hand, Rado, were more than capable of taking on the very Pillars of Shinsou. With his help, they would have been able to smash the Pillars, but prefered doing things by themselves. Mercenaries were always an interesting people to him.

Nagi's plan worked, though imperfectly. The real queen of Windbloom had escaped with the fake princess and the North Hound had betrayed him because of his affinity to the daughter of Rena Sayers. Well, Nagi had expected to incurr losses of some sort when he made his move, though he was still disappointed in Sergei, and constantly reminds Nina that if she can bring back Mashiro or subdue Arika, he would reinstate her father as head of his army. After all, men like Sergei were quite rare.

Nagi knew how desperately Nina loved her father and would go farther than ethically necessary for him. Because of that, it made her a perfect match for the Pitch Black Diamond. It was a loyal GEM, almost fanatic to Masters that held power and dominion. Nina was quite similar. She held unwavering loyalty to her father, who's loyalty was based in Artai. He marveled at how easily he was able to control one so seemingly in control.

On his new throne in Windbloom, during the meetings he had with his new cabinet or during the games of strategy he'd often play with her, he would sometimes sneak a peak at the perpetually scowling Nina Wong. Ah, how hard it was not to smirk. Such an emotionally fragile girl, driven to madness at the thought of losing her father to her friend. If she ever did succeed in defeating Arika, he'd have to send someone with her to make sure the real princess wasn't killed. He knew her abilities and the power she could wield.

It would take time and careful planning, but if all went well, her loyalty could easily allow him to control her. It was true his hold on her mind was already great, but there was that spark of affinity with Arika and, of course, the love of her father. Either one of those elements could easily turn against him, and so, he would wait for the time to dispatch Nina. He'd allow her time to let her hatred for Arika, Rena, and, strangely enough, the owner of the Fire String Ruby, to fester and grow. At the right moment, he'd unleash her upon her foes and she'd fall upon them like a force of nature.

He'd almost forgotten the Fire String Ruby. Mai Tokiha. The missing Princess of Dipan. Even more dangerous than Arika was that woman. For she had been appearing here and there against Shwartz. Though, just as emotional as Arika and Nina, she held experience in battle, and knew the loss one felt.

He had met her in a battle and barely won. Utilizing his resources, he played a gamble that she still held feelings for Sergei. He had arranged to have a doll in the shape of Sergei, purposefully placed in harm's way, 'allowing' the perfect opportunity for the Graceful Amethyst, Shizuru Viola, to attack. Though she did destroy the double, word of Sergei's 'death' traveled far and wide and it reached Tokiha's ears. He and Nina had barely escaped with their lives in that ordeal. Mai, still able to use her robes, despite all precautions, had burned the hide outs of the Gaulderobe Resistance in search of Shizuru. Yet, he had the terrible luck of being nearby to watch the carnage.

Regardless, it was a marvelous sight. Mai Tokiha. The Fire String Ruby. Her face a mask of rage, anguish, sorrow, and hatred, much like Nina's, as she strangled the life out of Shizuru. The fruitless struggle, the sudden snap of bone, and the limp body left to rot in the scorched desert. He would have to hire a writer to create a play about this with the Theatre of Pain that he loved so much.

However, the ruse didn't last long as Mai realized what she had done and how she had been played a fool. They had met, eye to eye, despite their distance. He could tell, she knew whom her enemy was and would not be fooled again. Upon retrospect, they didn't escape, she had let them go and it would not happen a second time. His contacts had later informed him that she had eventually joined in with the few resistance cells still working after her rampage and had reunited with her beloved Sergei.

Nagi smirked at the thought. The North Hound may have been a master of the battlefield, but he was just as torn between his own loyalties and the love of the woman that had taken his heart after Rena Sayers had left his life.

What was not amusing was Lady Tokiha's prowess. The reasons for her recommendations as a Pillar were not based solely upon her power as an Otome, but her ability to lead, give and take orders, and to be an example. She was probably the most dangerous person he would eventually face. And a marvelous battle it would be.

Initially, he would have been worried about Natsuki Kruger, but years behind a desk had left her a useless bureaucrat and without her robes and her precious Shizuru, she was a wreck with no hope of recovery. Rumor had it, she had hanged herself after having countless arguments with Mai, but was still unverified. Either way, it was of no consequence unless his agents told him otherwise. The resistance would fall, whether it would be in-fighting, against Aswald, or the remnants of Schwartz.

Another smirk crossed his lips. The Schwartz, so foolishly believing they'd get their hands on the technology they wanted to use against him. He had found dissenters from their ranks and on the promise of being free from their dark destiny, convinced them to turn against their masters. So, with his own web of agents and Nina, Schwartz was completely wiped out, save for a few stragglers that wouldn't know what to do, even if they weren't on the run.

Finally, Aswald. Though they shared no real animosity towards him, Nagi was a tad put out when he found that they tried to steal the technology from Gaulderobe when he had offered them more than their fair share, but no matter. It was still possible to be able to make use of them against Tokiha and her own batch of stragglers, so he wouldn't burn his bridges just yet.

"Ah ha!" Nagi said as he took another piece from his side of the game board and placed it NIna's. His Otome looked shocked at the nearly impossible maneuver and had completely turned the tides in his favor. Just like almost every game of strategy they played against each other with. Victory was his.

"Surprised, Nina?" Nagi said, leaning in his throne. He made sure to get a good look at her eyes when she answered him. He had made sure that she was given plenty of chances to fight with Arika and allow her anger to continue to grow.

"No, your highness," she said, completely calm. Despite all her best efforts, he could read her like a book. She was starting to falter. All these fights with Arika, consistently coming to a draw were starting to wear her down. That would not do.

"Take a break, Nina. You're no good to me tired," Nagi said, losing the smile. It was true she had been pushing herself harder and harder to be stronger than Arika, however, he had no intention of letting Nina burn herself out before she had the chance to truly shine.

She bowed towards him and was about to reach forward when Nagi stopped her with an open palm. "I'll take care of it. You go sleep."

Slightly surprised, but silently grateful, she bowed once more and slowly walked out of the darkened throne room.

"Nina."

She turned to him.

"Yes, highness?"

He looked to her, straight into her topaz colored eyes and said, "I miss him too. If we want him back, we must be patient." Nina was alarmed momentarily when she realized he could practically discern her thoughts. Regardless, she nodded in appreciation and walked through the door, closing it behind her.

The only source of light was the single candle above his throne and it suited him just fine. He stepped up from his throne and walked to the windowed openings to watch the moon. Right below the moon, the blue star still shone brightly. Letting its light dance in his eyes, the same sinister and cunning smile returned. He looked back to the game board, and reexamined a few possible moves Nina could have used to win.

"Hmm," he said with a glance towards the major pieces. "One more move and I would have been yours, dear Nina." An omen, perhaps? If so, it would be nothing new. Ever since he started on his campaign to conquer the world, he always felt one step away from victory or defeat. He went into every operation thinking it was a trap, that was why he still lived. He would conquer or perish in the attempt, but regardless, he would be the first to unify the world without a large scale war. Or, he would be remembered as a madman with delusions of grandeur, either way, he would be remembered.

He looked at the city that he had conquered nearly a year ago and whispered with an even larger smile, "So, Tokiha... when will you show me your dance?"

The darkness there could not answer, only his foe, who lied in wait to destroy him would answer when she would.

The End.

Notes.

Initially, this was supposed to be a story from Arika's perspective after the final, bloody, 'no reset this time' battle that pretty much left the world in ruins. However, it started give forth an evil aura and what better person than Nagi to star in it? Only a bad mamma jamma like him is evil enough to be considered the main villain in Otome.

So, for all the evil things done to the cast, I'm just drawing out from a 'one of the worse possibilities' to happen. And, let's face it, not even fan favorites are safe from the evil writers of Otome. Which is why it's not as good as it could be (because there's no Mai yet!).

Though, I did enjoy the nefarious episode 17, I just felt too many things were happening all at once and Sunrise was simply going for the shock value instead of trying to write a good story. One of the smart things about that episode, though, is that Nagi was not seen as a conquerer, but in reality a liberator and soon a sovereign since the people of Windbloom woulda ratted out on Mashiro again if they had the chance. And what better thing for a villain to do that to do the things which makes the people of nations he conquers happy? It makes the 'good guys' less good, that's what. Oh, Nagi, you surprise me yet again.

Finally, all things Otome, belong to Sunrise. Though, I'm still not happy there's still no Mai to be seen...


End file.
